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**pinkypinky** · 01-03-2016, 09:45

This thread is to discuss, compare and contrast the different versions of the NLI parish registers which are now online.

Ancestry (free this month)
Findmypast (apparently free forever)
Rootsireland (€25 a month but does have other unique records)

shanew · 01-03-2016, 09:47

Search of baptism transcripts looking good on FMP - search is not great at some Latin names, but fine with wildcard searches

**pinkypinky** · 01-03-2016, 09:56

First thoughts on FMP:

Hard to find the link for the right database, but this is usual. It's also very slow right now but I'd imagine that's just lots of people accessing it.

I started with some records I knew would be there, and they all showed up where expected.

An 1849 baptism in St Andrews that I looked at doesn't have sponsors in the transcription but they are there in the image.
An 1879 baptism in Haddington Road gives DOB, baptism date, address of parents but again no sponsors though they are there in the image.
If you leave the year blank, you get lots of hits which bring up typed indexes, etc.

shanew · 01-03-2016, 10:06

The Baptisms I've tried, are searchable with mother's maiden surname, but this doesn't seem to appear on the initial transcript - EDIT - it does appear on the full transcript

shanew · 01-03-2016, 10:15

a couple of very useful features - you can search just by either surname (or both) without any first names, and/or within a selected list of parishes e.g. the primary parish and all those surrounding

Hermy · 01-03-2016, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanew

...you can search just by either surname (or both) without any first names...

This might be the single biggest issue I have with Roots - the very restrictive nature of the search facility.

blue banana · 01-03-2016, 11:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermy

This might be the single biggest issue I have with Roots - the very restrictive nature of the search facility.

This has actually changed in recent months on RootsIreland. It's definitely not as restrictive as it used to be.

Hermy · 01-03-2016, 11:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue banana

This has actually changed in recent months on RootsIreland. It's definitely not as restrictive as it used to be.

Is it possible now to enter just a surname and get results back?
Or are you still required to enter 2 to 3 criteria for a valid search?

blue banana · 01-03-2016, 12:49

Yep one surname is sufficient now, much improved.

shanew · 01-03-2016, 14:58

Search on FMP seems much better than the one on Ancestry which has no parish lists, and still have to find some of the test records which were easy to locate on FMP

**pinkypinky** · 01-03-2016, 16:00

I hate the way Ancestry gives free access now. Even with a login, you have to use their limited search box, which returns people by that name in Ancestry member trees. I had to navigate to the parish link and people are given the option of selecting a diocese. Americans are so likely to know the diocese. Ridiculous!

When I search for the same two baptisms as above, it does show St Andrews in the list view and the parents' names. No sponsors listed in the transcript.

Same iffy spelling of Latin as in FMP which proves they are the same database.
The image of the 1879 is much clearer on Ancestry than FMP though.

pedroeibar1 · 01-03-2016, 16:16

Very opposite result for me, Ancestry's search function has won by a large margin! (Praise indeed from me, given my known views/comments on Ancestry in the past!)

For a long time I have been stumped by a few pre GRO births and marriages in Cork city - family equidistant from two churchs and I spent hours looking at B&M Registers for one baptism..

Today, on FMP I entered the family name, the year of birth (1850 fuzzy at +/- 10 years), place of birth Cork and the mother’s maiden name. Zero hits.

On Ancestry the same inputs brought up all but one of the children of that marriage plus many more “possibles” as it included others with either the same surname or Christian name of the mother. Annoyingly it did not give me the one I'm looking for!

The problem was the page sequences for records at St. Mary's Cork are not always sequential and "odd" entries are randomly entered.

There are a few very odd spelling interpretations of one name, so I'll check later to see if it is the same / replicated on both databases.
edit - just checked - they have/are using the same database

**pinkypinky** · 01-03-2016, 16:47

Looks like the mother's first name rather than surname is in the index on FMP. This is a mistake because the user will have to view each image to find out the right surname. Imagine if you were looking for Mary!

shanew · 01-03-2016, 17:26

I can search baptisms using surname and mothers maiden surname successfully on FMP for any I've looked at ... even without date range, first names, county or parish

EDIT : one of my test search using just surnames (not a common combination - allow variations on both), family based in Bray - no date, no parish or county - FMP 8 baptisms , which match my original film searches, Ancestry give plenty of results but only the first three are relevant baptism matches, then displays two related marriages followed by various records that dont appear to be related - e.g. to just one of the surnames

**pinkypinky** · 01-03-2016, 19:42

Oh dear me: terribly ignorant comments on the Irish Times facebook piece about it. I want to shout loudly "you're all idiots". But I won't.

01-03-2016, 09:45	#1
pinkypinky Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,955 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Genealogy, ZTest	Find my past vs Ancestry vs Roostireland versions of the RC parish registers This thread is to discuss, compare and contrast the different versions of the NLI parish registers which are now online. Ancestry (free this month) Findmypast (apparently free forever) Rootsireland (€25 a month but does have other unique records)

01-03-2016, 16:16	#12
pedroeibar1 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 4,942 Adverts \| Friends	Very opposite result for me, Ancestry's search function has won by a large margin! (Praise indeed from me, given my known views/comments on Ancestry in the past!) For a long time I have been stumped by a few pre GRO births and marriages in Cork city - family equidistant from two churchs and I spent hours looking at B&M Registers for one baptism.. Today, on FMP I entered the family name, the year of birth (1850 fuzzy at +/- 10 years), place of birth Cork and the mother’s maiden name. Zero hits. On Ancestry the same inputs brought up all but one of the children of that marriage plus many more “possibles” as it included others with either the same surname or Christian name of the mother. Annoyingly it did not give me the one I'm looking for! The problem was the page sequences for records at St. Mary's Cork are not always sequential and "odd" entries are randomly entered. There are a few very odd spelling interpretations of one name, so I'll check later to see if it is the same / replicated on both databases. edit - just checked - they have/are using the same database Last edited by pedroeibar1; 01-03-2016 at 16:25. Reason: update

01-03-2016, 17:26	#14
shanew Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,768 Adverts \| Friends	I can search baptisms using surname and mothers maiden surname successfully on FMP for any I've looked at ... even without date range, first names, county or parish EDIT : one of my test search using just surnames (not a common combination - allow variations on both), family based in Bray - no date, no parish or county - FMP 8 baptisms , which match my original film searches, Ancestry give plenty of results but only the first three are relevant baptism matches, then displays two related marriages followed by various records that dont appear to be related - e.g. to just one of the surnames Last edited by shanew; 01-03-2016 at 17:42.

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01-03-2016, 09:47	#2
shanew Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,768 Adverts \| Friends	Search of baptism transcripts looking good on FMP - search is not great at some Latin names, but fine with wildcard searches

01-03-2016, 09:56	#3
pinkypinky Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,955 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Genealogy, ZTest	First thoughts on FMP: Hard to find the link for the right database, but this is usual. It's also very slow right now but I'd imagine that's just lots of people accessing it. I started with some records I knew would be there, and they all showed up where expected. An 1849 baptism in St Andrews that I looked at doesn't have sponsors in the transcription but they are there in the image. An 1879 baptism in Haddington Road gives DOB, baptism date, address of parents but again no sponsors though they are there in the image. If you leave the year blank, you get lots of hits which bring up typed indexes, etc.

01-03-2016, 10:06	#4
shanew Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,768 Adverts \| Friends	The Baptisms I've tried, are searchable with mother's maiden surname, but this doesn't seem to appear on the initial transcript - EDIT - it does appear on the full transcript

01-03-2016, 10:15	#5
shanew Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,768 Adverts \| Friends	a couple of very useful features - you can search just by either surname (or both) without any first names, and/or within a selected list of parishes e.g. the primary parish and all those surrounding

01-03-2016, 12:49	#9
blue banana Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 333 Adverts \| Friends	Yep one surname is sufficient now, much improved.

01-03-2016, 14:58	#10
shanew Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,768 Adverts \| Friends	Search on FMP seems much better than the one on Ancestry which has no parish lists, and still have to find some of the test records which were easy to locate on FMP

01-03-2016, 16:00	#11
pinkypinky Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,955 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Genealogy, ZTest	I hate the way Ancestry gives free access now. Even with a login, you have to use their limited search box, which returns people by that name in Ancestry member trees. I had to navigate to the parish link and people are given the option of selecting a diocese. Americans are so likely to know the diocese. Ridiculous! When I search for the same two baptisms as above, it does show St Andrews in the list view and the parents' names. No sponsors listed in the transcript. Same iffy spelling of Latin as in FMP which proves they are the same database. The image of the 1879 is much clearer on Ancestry than FMP though.

01-03-2016, 16:47	#13
pinkypinky Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,955 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Genealogy, ZTest	Looks like the mother's first name rather than surname is in the index on FMP. This is a mistake because the user will have to view each image to find out the right surname. Imagine if you were looking for Mary!

01-03-2016, 19:42	#15
pinkypinky Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,955 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Genealogy, ZTest	Oh dear me: terribly ignorant comments on the Irish Times facebook piece about it. I want to shout loudly "you're all idiots". But I won't.